Little Known Features in Epicor ERP Financials
The Epicor ERP application is comprised of many financials features. In
this issue, you can review useful financials features that are
available in the Epicor 9.05 application but may not be very well
known.
Asset Mass Changes
Use Asset Mass Changes to issue mass changes to assets, including
changing the depreciation parameters of an asset, asset group, or asset
class. The mass update occurs only for values in the default register,
it leaves any other registers unaffected. You can use filters to
specify which assets, asset group, or asset class to modify, and you
can use replacements to specify the values to be assigned to the
selected assets. To use this program, from the main menu go to
Financial Management > Asset Management > Setup and open Asset
Mass Changes.
Auto Retrieve Invoices
You can use the Auto Retrieve Invoices functionality in the AR Invoice
Entry or AP Invoice Entry programs to activate automatic retrieval of
invoices for the current group. After it is enabled, recalculation
occurs each time a line is saved. To use this feature, open Invoice
Entry and from the Actions menu select Auto Retrieve Invoices. A check
mark is displayed when the feature is enabled.
Balance Control
Use the Balance Control feature within the General Ledger module if you
need to use multiple balance control methods. Available methods
include:
• Include in Detail Balance – Maintains segment
balances for use on reports and trackers.
• Include in Summary Balance – Summarizes segment
balances for use on reports and trackers.
• Opening Balance on P/L – Maintains year-end segment
balances for expense and revenue accounts.
Additionally, specific accounts can be configured to maintain daily balances. You can
display balances through chart, summary, or detail views. Balances are
automatically reset at year-end, but you can also share balances
between periods on a Profit and Loss account. You can then maintain a
cumulative balance within this account. To use this feature, from the
main menu go to
Financial Management > General Ledger > Setup and
open Chart of Accounts.
Automatic Transaction Reversal
You can use Automatic Transaction Reversal to cancel a posted journal.
You typically use this program in two situations. When you preview a
consolidation in an intermediate book, you may discover an error. You
can then reverse the consolidation within the intermediate book before
you transfer the data to the target book. After you make the changes
you need, run the Consolidate to Parent program to re-post. If you have
already consolidated to the target book, you can first reverse the
consolidation in the target book, and then reverse the consolidation
again in the intermediate book (a user within the source company
launches this reversal process). When the data is updated in the source
company, the consolidation can be run again. Cancellation of journals
reduces tax consequences in some countries such as Russia and in other
jurisdictions where tax is based on turnover in general ledger
accounts. You can reverse the most recently posted journals. After you
make the corrections you need, you can then re-post the journals. This
prevents values from being doubled within the posted results. Available
cancellation modes include:
• Reverse Transaction
Posts debit amounts equal to credit amounts on the original journal and
credit amounts equal to debit amounts on the original journal. In
Russia, this mode is known as ordinary storno. For example, you
estimate payroll as a $1000 credit to the payroll accrual. When
reversed, a second entry is created as a $1000 debit to the same
account.
• Reverse as Red Storno – Posts transactions
that contain reversing amounts. This type of journal contains a
negative debit or credit line when the debit or credit line on the
original journal increases the account balance; the journal contains a positive debit or credit line
when the debit or credit line on the original entry decreases the
account balance.
For example, a posted journal line debits an asset
account. A red storno journal posts a negative debit line to the same
account to cancel the increase from the original detail. To use this
feature, from the main menu go to Financial Management > General
Ledger > General Operations and open Automatic Transaction Reversal.
Batch Balances
You can use the GL Batch Balances Process to maintain the GL balance
records in batch mode. This feature helps to improve performance in
companies with a high volume of daily transactions and in companies
which do not find it necessary to review GL transactions on a daily
basis. You can run this process manually, or set the schedule to run it
at various intervals. You can also indicate whether it should be a
recurring process. To use Batch Balances, from the main menu go to Financial Management > General Ledger > General
Operations and open GL BatchBalances.
Copy Invoice Lines
Use the Copy Invoice Lines option to adjust posted invoices that
contain errors. You can add adjusting entries to a miscellaneous
invoice, shipment invoice, or credit memo. To do this, copy selected
lines to the original invoice. You can choose to create the adjusting
line as a reversing entry. This can result in the creation of a zero-
balance invoice. Adjustments only affect financial processes.
Adjustments have no effect on shipments or other processes connected
with the original invoice. To use the Copy Invoice Lines functionality,
go to Financial Management > Accounts Receivable > General
Operations > Invoice Entry and from the Actions menu select Copy
Invoice Lines.
Currency Accounts
The Currency Account option allows users to set up natural segments to
hold balances in multiple currencies. If a company is generating
currency transactions, they may need to manually add or adjust the GL
in a non-book currency. To do this, the natural account must be set up
as a currency account. Currency balances can be revalued via the G/L
Currency Revaluation process and used in General Ledger reconciliation.
Customer Tracker – Aging Sheet
Use the Aging sheet available in the Customer Tracker program to
display AR invoice aging information for a selected customer. The Aging
sheet calculates the year to date totals on the current invoices that
the customer has paid and it lets you compare these amounts to last
year’s totals. To use the Aging sheet, open the Customer Tracker and
navigate to Financial > Invoices > Aging. You will find that the
Aging sheet is a very useful tool to view AR aging by customer in a
dashboard view.
Feature Spotlight: Advanced Allocations
The Advanced Allocations functionality distributes specific amounts
posted to the general ledger across various receiving, or target
accounts. Through this feature set, you define a series of allocations
that first pulls amounts from financial source data and then spreads
these allocated amounts across multiple accounts. You can set up your
allocation structure to be as simple or as complex as you need. The
feature set includes creating allocation codes, generating allocations,
and viewing the history.
General Ledger Import
You can use the General Ledger Import process to import data from other
applications into the Epicor application. The file you import must be a
comma delimited file (CSV) and follow the GL import file template.
After you submit the General Ledger Import process, the changes update
the application. If you want to review imported data before it posts to
the GL, do not select the Post check box before you submit the process.
The imported group is then available to review and post within GL
Journal Entry. You can select the Post check box to post the imported
data without reviewing the data first. To use the import process, from
the main menu go to Financial Management > General Ledger >
General Operations and open General Ledger Import.
Generate Shipment Invoices
Instead of using the Get Shipment function in Invoice Entry, you can
use the Generate Shipment Invoices process to generate shipment
invoices for products or services. This process allows you to create
invoices directly from packing slips and you can set it up to run at
regular intervals. To use this process, from the main menu go to
Financial Management > Accounts Receivable > General Operations
and open Generate Shipment Invoices.
Locate Invoice Group
Use the Locate Invoice Group option to quickly find a group that
includes a specific invoice. This option locates the group number; you
can then enter this group number on the Group sheet to display all
invoices within the entry group. To use the Locate Invoice Group
functionality, go to Financial Management > Accounts Payable >
General Operations > Invoice Entry and from the Actions menu select
Locate Invoice Group.
Advanced Allocations – High-End Approach to Distribution of Costs
Advanced Allocations enhance and simplify the process of creating,
calculating, and processing allocations and accruals. This
functionality distributes specific amounts posted to the general ledger
across various receiving, or target accounts. You can set up as simple
or as complex an allocation structure as you need. By specifically
defining the calculating and processing of allocations, you save time
and ensure allocations are consistently dispersed across your selected
target accounts.
You can allocate amounts using different types of source data
To start working with advanced allocations, you should create
allocation codes and define settings for each code using the Allocation
Code Maintenance program. When the codes are created, you need to
define the source. The following types of sources are available:
Categories, Journal Codes, GL Account Masks, and Account Segment
Ranges. After applying the selection criteria, each account (or GL
transaction which affects each account) that matches the criteria is
allocated.
You can use target accounts with fixed value ratios and formula based
ratios
For each allocation code, you should enter a list of target accounts
and the ratios that define the proportion to divide. These target
accounts receive the dispersed source amounts using the specified
ratios. You can indicate whether each allocation code disperses amounts
through a fixed value or a formula you create. Each formula you enter
must contain the arithmetic operators and operands needed to complete
the expression. The available operands are fixed values, balances of
specific GL accounts, non- financial data, and summary balances
generated across several GL accounts.
You can batch and schedule allocations
Use Allocation Batch Entry to define the groups, or batches, of
allocations you want to run simultaneously or sequentially. After you
create the batches, you set up a schedule to define the fiscal year
during which these allocations run.
You can also configure the allocation process to run on an
automatically recurring schedule. Once you create a batch and assign
allocation codes to that batch, from the Actions menu, select Generate
Schedule to define in which fiscal periods this batch should be
generated. Later, when you enter an apply date in the Generate
Allocations process, the system will pull in the appropriate batches
based on their generated schedules.
You can create tiered allocations
Within each batch, the allocation codes can be organized into different
levels, or tiers. Any tiers processed
after the first tier use the journal details generated through all the
previous tiers. Each tier processes one level of allocations, followed
by the next level of allocations, and so on until all tiers have
generated allocation amounts to the journals set up to receive them at
each tier level.
Example:
The Acme company has a multi-site environment which consists of several
offices. At the end of the month, they need to allocate the rent amount
between the sites and between the departments according to the area
they occupy. To do this, they create a batch allocation and schedule it
to run once in a month. The batch consists of two tiers: the first tier
distributes the rent amounts between the sites’ accounts; the second
tier is based on a formula factor – it calculates the amounts that need
to be allocated according to the number of square feet each department
occupies and redistributes the rent amount between the departments’
accounts.
You can simulate the allocations
After allocation codes are grouped into batches, use the Generate
Allocations program to process the allocation amounts, and, when you
are ready, post them to the general ledger.
However, you can first use the program in a simulation mode. In this
mode, you calculate and save allocation transactions without affecting
the general ledger. To do this, you must select the Simulation check
box when running the Generate Allocations program.
Simulated results are saved separately from the general ledger. You can then verify the allocations
in the Allocations History Tracker and make adjustments before you
process the results against your actual data.
You can track the history of allocations
The Allocation History Tracker stores all allocation transaction
information and provides references to the source data. It enables you
to view for a specific period, all of the general ledger transactions
created by applying allocations. The allocations are grouped by batches
and tiers. You can view the information on allocations with dates and
user IDs.
If necessary, you can use the Allocation History Tracker to reverse the
selected allocations transactions posted to the GL in prior allocation
runs.
